Curiosity sends first 3D images from Mars

London, Aug 8 (IANS) The Curiosity rover Wednesday sent back the first 3D images of the martian surface as mission controllers began testing out its camera systems.

The rover also sent back the first "clear" pictures of its new home in the Gale crater after a dust cover was successfully jettisoned from one of its main cameras, the Daily Mail reported.

NASA also Wednesday released new images of the surface of the red planet showing the rover and the discarded landing casing and parachute on the red planet's surface.

It is the first of dozens of images set to be released over the coming days as NASA begins testing out the scientific instruments that will let the car sized rover search for the ingredients of life, the daily said.

Curiosity's journey to Mars spanned eight months and 566 million km. The rover gently touched down Sunday night after executing an elaborate and untested landing routine.

The nuclear-powered, six-wheel Curiosity will spend the next two years chiselling into rocks and scooping up soil at Gale Crater to determine whether the environment ever had the right conditions for microbes to thrive.